DISCLAIMER & A/N: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own. I decided to post this here after finding a similar story on the site that was too close to my own for me to leave things alone!

(I'm so damn petty!)

Thinking (+ flashbacks, etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

Almost a year after the Fourth Shinobi War:

"What's wrong with you, Naruto?!" his twin sister, Natsumi, asked crossly. "We've been waiting to check this out our whole lives!" She couldn't believe that Naruto's sensei, the new Hokage, even allowed them to visit their mother's homeland. Considering that her brother gave up his arm, for fuck's sake, in the war and how recently his last surgery was to properly replace it, it's a miracle that they've been allowed out of the village at all. Especially alone, just the two of them.

The young woman with the sunset-red hair turned around to look at her brother and screwed up her face before running back to him. "You're not still scared of ghosts being there are you?" she asked quietly.

"No," Naruto groaned but didn't yell at her for implying that he wasn't "Ultra Brave" or something equally as kooky - or even smile goofily at her as he normally did - which was just worrisome to his sister. "How can I be afraid of ghosts after we lived through all those zombies, 'ttebayo?" he asked with a shiver.

"Good point," Natsumi agreed quickly before stopping her brother in his tracks. "Is it your arm? Is it okay? Are ya having any trouble feeding chakra through it? 'Cause, we can go back; we're going to have to water walk for quite a while to get there and..."

"NO! I mean it's not my arm, 'ttebayo," he replied and then gently shoved his pushy younger (by 8 minutes,) sister forward. "Let's just hurry up," he paused. "And this is your dream, not mine," he added, which she thought was just rude.

Why, you ask? Well, the idiot

- Has gone around screaming about becoming the Hokage since he was four,
- Will be made Hokage if he ever starts studying so that he can first become a Jonin, (or even get promoted to Chunin: that would be good, too;)
- She has supported his loud ass their entire lives!

Natsumi supported his dreams, moved them out of their first shitty apartment after she started doing missions, and even stood up to the Matron all those years ago in front of the Sandaime so they could get out of that damn orphanage! She even kicked Jiraiya's ass into gear so that Naruto's Toad godfather - may he rest in peace, of course - would at least start Naruto out on sealing.

It's not like I'm really great with seals, either, but at least ANBU gave me a foundation for using them.
 - AND NUMBER FOUR: He should support my dreams as I support his!

And anyway, what kind of Uzumaki has never seen Uzushio before?

A sudden realization hit her. "Oh my gosh, it's Sasuke leaving, isn't it? I'm sorry, Naruto; I should've been more sensitive." She'd thought that getting him away from Konoha after Sasuke was allowed to leave would be helpful, not hurt him more. Shame on me.

"'s alright," the blonde said as his shoulders slumped even further.

"You know he loves you right?"

"...But that asshole doesn't DESERVE you," Natsumi continued in a darker voice while socking a fist into her palm. "But I won't even go there: I know that the heart wants what it wants, and you and that bastard want each other," she sighed heavily and pouted, feeling increasing rage burn within her once again that she knew she needed to temper. In an even lower voice, she continued while beginning to run on the saltwater that would lead them to their ancestral home. "If he hurts you again, I'll choke all the life straight out of him, though."

.

This is one thing Naruto won't miss. Although he knows his sister loves him - and he loves her! - she's bossy and those chains of hers are a real pain to deal with. She almost killed Sasuke with them after the war when she saw his arm! Kakashi-Hokage-sensei - still not sure what to call him - had to slap a chakra suppression seal on her, she was so mad, which meant that all the rest of those under the Infinite Tsukiyomi had to languish in their pod things until she'd recovered.

Speaking of seals, I need to find a good place to lay this one out...

Naruto would say he felt horribly guilty and terrible for what he was about to do, but from what his sensei-Hokage showed him, Natsumi's gotta get back where she belongs. There may be hell to pay for it, but as long as he puts enough chakra into the seal, maybe all the deaths and this hell they've been through can be avoided. And she'll still be his family, no matter what!

Plus, she should get a power boost, if what Kakashi-sensei said was true.

He's gotta keep thinking that way because otherwise, this mission hurts too damn much!

Once on the beaches of Uzushiogakure, Naruto would admit to himself that he was relieved that it wasn't covered with skeletons or other scary stuff. Although Natsumi's the better sensor of the two of them, he's pretty sure that he'd be able to sense ghosts as those suckers are full of bad intent.

But Kurama's still asleep.

Considering it more, the blonde Uzumaki felt a chill trickle up his arms: the good one and the new arm.

"It's beautiful, isn't it Naruto?" Natsumi asked reverently as she turned around in slow circles to look at the white sandy beaches of her mother's home. From her mother's journals, she knew that the other side of the island has black sand - something she can't even imagine. "C'mon, Naruto!"

Naruto watched as his sister's face, so much like his own, (only girlier,) nearly split in half, her smile was so wide. "Ne, sis? Can we stop for a minute?"

Natsumi turned so fast toward him that her hair whipped around and slapped her at hearing her brother's voice crack. "Naruto? What's the matter? Oh, gods! Was the run too much for you?" She threw down her pack to begin finding her brother some water or whatever it might be that he needed but stopped at seeing Naruto unroll the gigantic scroll that had been on his back. "Aniki? What's this?"

She watched her brother step into the seal it held before asking her to take a look at a part of it that he pointed to. He had bent down from his waist to examine it.

Natsumi crouched beside him and could admit that parts of the seal looked familiar, but the entire thing was super complicated.

"I love you," Natsumi heard him say. Her brother had hopped out of the seal, and tears were streaking down his face as she tried to move toward him, or out of the seal - but couldn't.

"Uzumaki fuuinjutsu: Maki Modo..." were the last words or syllables she heard him yell before her vision turned red.